Best Smartphones (Archive)

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The Apple iPhone 6s Plus is the best smart-phone in the world.
 
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Well "sir" I'm glad you asked.

It's fast, very fun to use due to its fluid user interface, and comes with two great cameras using good optical image stabilization, smooth 240Hz solo-mo video, sharp images and good low-light performance.

Beyond that, it's functional. I like word and excel on iPhone, they're actually usable, as in, you can actually type something like a paragraph or a formula, on a phone, and it works.

It's also safe to use with that fingerprint scanner built into the home button, and innovative, e.g. that new 3D Touch feature which gives a contextual menu and haptic feedback for a lot of the common tasks. Remember when we used to make fun of macs saying, 'but can you right-click using your Mac?' This is apple's answer to that.

I still think OS X is genuinely not as good as Windows for everyday productivity, but as far as a phone or tablet goes, their iOS really makes people have fun snapchatting, emailing, face-booking, texting or what have you...it's a content consumption animal that doesn't suck.

I only have an iPhone 4s, but it's easy for me to imagine what it would be like to use a current-generation model. And I'm not trying to stalk the writer Adam Overa by any means. I just think maybe the iPhone could have at least gotten a quick mention, maybe in the -approved or -honorable categories...just saying.
 
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The Apple iPhone 6s Plus is designed by Apple in California.
 

Peter Helmer

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Maybe the title to this article should have been: "Best android smartphone".

Ruling Iphones and windows phones out of the equation, and only including three brands of Andriod phones, seems completely pointless to me.

Bad article in my opinion.

Peter
 

Jct

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"I only have an iPhone 4s, but it's easy for me to imagine what it would be like to use a current-generation model"

wait so are you saying a phone you don't have is the best because you imagine it would be.... I mean Iphones are nice and all but a statement like that should at least come from the owner of one you would think.
 
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Jct,

Yes, but I also went to the Apple Store and played with the Apple Watch for 10 or so minutes and thought that it wasn't for me...I mean Elon Musk was right...it's not compelling to own yet...do I own an Apple Watch? No. Is it "nice and all"? Yes. Can I formulate an opinion about its functionality without owning one? You bet your britches, yes. Can I imagine typical use scenarios in my head and decide..nah, it's not very cool to use its features? Yes man, Yes.

The real question is, can an informed individual go to Best Buy and play with an Android device as well as the latest iPhone and just experience how far they've come along lately? Yes and Yes.

 
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What's the point in this article for people that work sensitive environments where most Android handsets are a big security "no no"? Article should be re-titled to "Best Android Smartphone". Very disappointing, non-representative and even misleading. Folk could be forgiven for being cynical and thinking that this is a sponsored article. If it is then you should state as such, because anything else would have at least given Apple more than a cursory mention, and maybe even acknowledged the mere existence of Microsoft - but if not than this is just bad editorial, or someone has an axe to grind.
 

Tomtompiper

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The Apple iPhone 6s Plus is designed by Apple in California.

It is made by underpaid workers in a sweatshop in China, Unlike my Note 4 which was made by highly paid skilled craftsmen in South Korea, And yet my Note 4 still cost me less than an iPhone 6s plus. I wonder why Apple is so profitable?
 

abbadon_34

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Someone must be concerned for their Apple stock to hi-jack this article. If you want apple, you have one choice, no need for an article.. Obviously this for the rest of the world.
 
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Someone must be concerned for their Apple stock to hi-jack this article. If you want apple, you have one choice, no need for an article.. Obviously this for the rest of the world.

Personally, I don't use an i-Thing and therefore couldn't give a hoot about them, but even so for the article to begin to reflect the description it should contain samples from all eco-systems. The article doesn't even look at requirements of users, which will dictate which flavour of handset you end up with, regardless of whether you like them or not.
 

Jim90

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Very suspicious article...Samsung winning all 3 best high end awards - really? no mention whatsoever of any other equally competing manufacturer / ecosystem?
I've seen this style of review, where there appears more than a suggestion of advertising tie-in, cropping up more and more. Perhaps a better summary of why each selection is 'better' than its nearest/most obvious rival?
 

MobileEditor

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Very suspicious article...Samsung winning all 3 best high end awards - really? no mention whatsoever of any other equally competing manufacturer / ecosystem?

As stated in this article, our selections are based on phones that we've actually reviewed. Our iPhone 6s review has not posted yet (even though it's pretty far along) and we just received a Lumia 950, so they are currently not eligible for consideration. Based on reader feedback from our previous roundup, I included a table showing all of the phones we've reviewed, along with the phones we're currently reviewing, to provide more context for our selections. However, it got removed :(

I've seen this style of review, where there appears more than a suggestion of advertising tie-in, cropping up more and more. Perhaps a better summary of why each selection is 'better' than its nearest/most obvious rival?

You can get more than just a summary by reading our in-depth reviews for each selection.

- Matt Humrick, Mobile Editor, Tom's Hardware
 

MobileEditor

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What's the point in this article for people that work sensitive environments where most Android handsets are a big security "no no"? Article should be re-titled to "Best Android Smartphone". Very disappointing, non-representative and even misleading. Folk could be forgiven for being cynical and thinking that this is a sponsored article. If it is then you should state as such, because anything else would have at least given Apple more than a cursory mention, and maybe even acknowledged the mere existence of Microsoft - but if not than this is just bad editorial, or someone has an axe to grind.

It is not a sponsored article. Our selection criteria are listed above in this article and also addressed in my comment above.

Which phones/ecosystems do you consider acceptable for a security sensitive environment?

- Matt Humrick, Mobile Editor, Tom's Hardware
 
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Dear Matt Humrick,

May I recommend for you to use each phone as your personal phone for a week or so with each review, this is something you maybe already doing. The reason is, at some point during that week, you will forget about all the gee-whiz technical specs and numbers inside the phone and really start to enjoy using it for work and leisure. Sure the specs help a phone achieve that great user experience, but it is the combination of good hardware and well-designed software that wins the day for the majority of users out there (mothers, teenagers, business folks...average people)

I get it, THG is here to protect consumers, and their budgets. But you're also here to help us spread the word much farther than your reader-base. We are tech-savvy, and we know what's good, better, and best. But help us support those around us who are less technically-inclined. This is especially pertinent to people during the holidays, where a good deal of disposable income will be relegated to new tech.

Thank you.
 

Krazy8

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On T-Mobile, the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime has better specs than the Moto E (although both have the same CPU and both have Android 5.0):

1.5GB vs 1GB RAM,
5" vs 4.5" screen,
8MP vs 5MP rear camera,
5MP vs 0.3MP front camera,
1080p FHD vs 720p HD video,
NFC vs no NFC,
2600mAh vs 2400mAh battery

T-Mobile's advanced calling features such as WiFi Calling 2.0 (WiFi handover), VoLTE, LTE band 12, and HD Voice are all supported on the Prime, but not on the Moto E.

The Moto E doesn't support the new T-Mobile LTE band 12, because it doesn't support VoLTE. On T-Mobile you need both (and E911) otherwise T-Mobile won't certify the phone for band 12 on their network (for legal reasons). For those who don't know why band 12 is important, it's the low frequency bandwidth (700 MHz in this case) that travels farther and penetrates buildings better, like the low frequency bandwidth on Verizon's network.

The Prime also supports Samsung Knox which is approved by the US Department of Defense for classified use.

The T-Mobile version of the Prime is $149 at Wally world, so it's the same as Motorola's current price for the 4G Moto E.
 

hdmark

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Not to say this isn't biased towards Samsung at all (Samsung does make a good phone... ii have an s5, but I will 100% not be buying another Samsung), and windows probably should be on the list (the reviewer said it hasn't been reviewed yet so that's why its not on the list...), but imo iphones have no place on this list. for the price of an iphone, you get ALOT more for cheaper android phones. yes they are premium phones, but they are also overpriced. also, people who buy iphones aren't exactly shopping around for phones based on reviews. I haven't personally met a single person who looked at reviews before buying an iphone, they either get one from their company as a work phone and just don't want to deal with 2 phones, or they have had an iphone for years and will just keep getting the next one when it comes out
 

ouroboros

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I had 3 Android phones, not my cup of meat. I'm also not a fan of Apple's OS so that left me with BBerry or Win8 and I went with the latter. I'm not what you'd call a "rabid" fan but I've found the OS to be much more intuitive than what I had on my prev phones. People complain about the lack of apps but I only use ~10 total; Tides, Weather, Kindle, Yelp, MTG Life Counter, Othello, DBA Meter, Flashlight, Traffic and Pandora.

The 920's h/w camera button is invaluable for me, crawling around in access holes it's nice to just hold the one button to take a pic. The Qi charging was another great treat that I was quickly spoiled by. It's nice to be able to drop your phone on the desk/nightstand and have it charge. The 950 offers both of these alongside the microSD and my 920's flash is becoming more and more erratic... perfect timing for that tax-return purchase, eh? ;)
 

jgskpx0389

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Maybe the title to this article should have been: "Best android smartphone".

Ruling Iphones and windows phones out of the equation, and only including three brands of Andriod phones, seems completely pointless to me.

Bad article in my opinion.

Peter
Maybe the title to this article should have been: "Best android smartphone".

Ruling Iphones and windows phones out of the equation, and only including three brands of Andriod phones, seems completely pointless to me.

Bad article in my opinion.

Peter
Maybe the title to this article should have been: "Best android smartphone".

Ruling Iphones and windows phones out of the equation, and only including three brands of Andriod phones, seems completely pointless to me.

Bad article in my opinion.

Peter

the article is about their "best" smartphones. They shouldn't care about the brand and OS. Only thing they should look for is what is "BEST" this month

if it just happens that all 5 phones are from Microsoft I wouldn't care. as long as it really is "best" smartphone at current time when the article was released

to conclude THW did not come in to conclusion that any apple phones should be mentioned in 5 catagory

maybe they should have best apple smartphone article since their products are not good enough to be on their best smartphone
 
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